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Demented Guy posted:Marry her and file for a family-based petition. You just need to prove in the interview stage that it's not a fixed marriage for the sake of her getting a green card. Submit documents, pictures and be prepared to answer personal questions relating to your relationship. It shouldn't be hard but still prepare together on how to answer certain questions. Scour the Internet for possible questions. If you would like, I can send you a list of possible question that our lawyer sent before the interview. It's a little bit exhaustive but it's better to overprepare than not prepare at all. I've been married for 3 months, and we've been living together for 1.5 years (we have lots of holiday photos, shared bills etc). I am applying for a marriage green card (she is a US citizen, I'm not) and the lawyer has all my documents/medical records/etc and is putting it together. How long after it's sent in will it take for me to get my green card?
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Sep 6, 2012 16:46
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I tried for years to get my green card through work, but my company did tons of layoffs and the lawyer (for a well known internet company) hosed up my application by saying something on it that was untrue (no, he didn't tell me he was doing that and refused to show me the labour certification application for perm, or whatever it's called). Eventually I moved companies because after my green card application was put in an audit queue then denied, I was told they'd re-apply. At that point they did layoffs so we had to wait another year and I only had 1.5 years left on my visa. My new company started the H1b -> green card application process on EB2, then I married my (american) wife and I got my green card about 3-3.5 months after I sent the application in. The interviewer was satisfied with what we had to say/show (We've lived together since 2010) so it was easy. If you have the choice of doing it through work or marriage, don't bother with work, seriously. I wanted to do it through work because I wasn't sure if it would put weird pressure on my marriage or anything but really, that didn't change anything. One thing of note is that the documentation required for marriage green cards is entirely different from the documentation required for merit-based/work-based applications so it's a bit of a pain in the rear end to switch over. I spent ages gathering all of the new documentation.
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Mar 27, 2013 23:36
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:My wife came here on a K-1 visa and now we're married and we've applied for a permanent residency. She had her biometrics appointment and all that and she just got her work permit today. Does that indicate anything at all on the status of permanent residency or am I still just totally in the dark? I got my biometrics appointment in november, cancelled it on the day due to a burned finger (yeah, I know) and got another one in December. Got the interview for the green card in mid Jan, and they said at the end of the interview 'approved'. I got my green card around feb 1.
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Jul 12, 2013 19:08
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nutranurse posted:So back story: I am a legal U.S. resident, have been all my life. Emigrated to the country when I was 3 and was educated here all the way through college, where I earned my degree. My mum has slacked on getting my brother and me our citizenships for ~*reasons*~, we were almost about to get it once, but then her ex-husband just kind of said "gently caress y'all," divorced her, and screwed up the whole process (to add insult to injury, prior to this my mum was on track to get her citizenship through my grandmother, but the ex-husband convinced my mum to go through him for ~*reasons*~). What is your actual legal status? If you're a legal us resident that means you're here on a visa or green card, AFAIK. If it's legal, what's the time limit that is imposed on you? (for green card there's no real limit, but you have to renew it). What passport have you got? Do you have an SSN?
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Jul 12, 2013 19:23
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Same Great Paste posted:On your very kind advice I went to a (different) lawyer this morning to get the new process started. Shared with them a few more specific details that I didn't understand I had left out here. Yadda yadda yadda, it turns out that all signs point to my current application being positively over by the end of November. I got mine through marriage after going through the employment-based GC process for 4 years and getting nowhere (audited, refused after a 2-year audit queue wait due to a lawyer's misrepresentation, this is the company-employed law firm while I worked at a large well-known internet company, then moved company, then was about to be submitted by my new company) and had mine through marriage 3 months after I submitted. It's a loving joke how hard it is to get it through employment compared to marriage. I mean mine is a legitimate marriage and we're clearly a real couple, but the interview wasn't hard and it was the only real 'test', no work experience required or anything. The green card arrived in the mail the week after the interview. The only annoying thing is that the set of data/details you need to submit for the marriage GC vs the employment GC is entirely different and you do need to have stuff like a shared bank account or both be on the same credit card. Also my new company paid for this whole process, and the law firm they got to handle my case sent a lawyer into the interview with us. He didn't actually say anything but I think his presence helped, i.e. it showed the interviewer that the law firm thought we were legit, which is what the interview is all about. Guys, guys.... Have you ever committed a crime, ever, and not been caught? Were you a member of the nazi party between 1939 and 1945? Have you ever / will you ever commit genocide? Anyway I've had it for almost 2 years and am removing the conditions on my green card now. This is the first thing I've ever done without a lawyer holding my hand but everyone says it's simple and doesn't need one. Anyone done this? Did you pay for a lawyer for that?
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Nov 22, 2014 06:44
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Ashcans posted:A letter from the employer should be sufficient; you could add in the other documentation, but it isn't required. If he has substantial savings as well as an income, it definitely shouldn't be necessary (we rarely include bank statements, just employer letters) Ashcans posted:Assuming that you are filing the I-751 (removal of conditions) with your spouse, it is really simple and shouldn't cause you any issues. If you are still together and have continued to live your life as a couple you probably won't even get an interview. You really need a lawyer if your spouse isn't going to petition with you, for instance if the marriage fell apart (or if they died Thank you! It's great to hear that. Yeah that's what I'm doing now.
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Nov 23, 2014 01:46
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Sharks Below posted:Oh my god I'm going insane. Coming up on 60 days and people on visajourney are getting case completes with last scan dates up to a week after mine. Now convinced we're getting a checklist and will have to wait another 60 days and my husband will have to leave Australia without me. gently caress this loving process for real Seriously. The usa has some kind of third-world style immigration system. Those already in are like  'it's tough ain't it, kid' but seriously it's just dumb and bad.
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Nov 25, 2014 11:23
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Same Great Paste posted:I've just been informed that my company is laying off most staff tomorrow, including myself. Do I need to worry? You ARE married to a us citizen so if you really want your green card within about 3 months you should do a marriage-based application. I don't know the answer to the rest of your questions though.
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Dec 1, 2014 02:30
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Dear Ashcans. I dumbly waited until the very last minute (3 days before the 90-day-period-before-the-2-year-temporary-greencard expires) to submit my application to remove temporary status on my green card. They sent a receipt to my house and actually cashed the check I sent them, already. My case is sound so I was only really worried about sending it to them at the last minute with a bad check or a bad signature page, and since they cashed the check they hopefully thought the signature page was ok too (I read that a bad check or signature page is the only thing that will make them reject an application out of hand instantly). So right now the date on my green card is up but since I sent in my application I'm ok for now. When will they be sending me a new green card,, even just a temporary one-year one, which is what I read happens between when you submit and when they process and approve and give you the ten-year one?
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Jan 25, 2015 07:02
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Thanks! Yes, my friend is at my house checking my mail while we're away, she said I got my receipt.
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Jan 25, 2015 23:35
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TheImmigrant posted:Totally forgot about this thread - must have unchecked it. I don't expect it. When they did the initial interview that everyone does right after applying for a green card through marriage, they granted it on the spot. The lawyer said that was unusual and most people's cases get reviewed a week or two later, then granted. Also my wife and I opened accounts together, get money put into the same place, etc.
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Jan 26, 2015 06:15
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When I went in for my medical they just drew blood to see what vaccines I'd had, then determined I didn't need any so I didn't need to come back. No problem.
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Feb 7, 2015 17:49
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Ashcans posted:If they ask, you should not admit that you intend to enter the US for purposes of espionage or bigamy. They might try to trick you, kind of nudge and wink and say 'not even a little bigamy?', but stay strong. It's a trap. I DUNNO ABOUT YOU BUT IT'S BIG O' ME!!! HAHAHA!
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Mar 16, 2015 21:02
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They explicitly tell you to have 2 signed affadavits from people who know you before your marriage, and then a bunch of other suggestions. I ended up sending in copies of: -christmas/birthday cards -paystubs for both of us -bills paid by both of us /sent to both of us at the same address -copy of our joint credit card account with card transactions by both of us -bank statement for joint bank account -labelled holiday photos as well as stuff like photos of us at the vet with our cats -photos of both of us with our parents edit: never mind I am dumb, that was for i-751. redreader fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Mar 17, 2015 |
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Mar 17, 2015 22:33
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Sharks Below posted:Cool that is unexpectedly good news? As someone who was on an l1b, then h1b, now gc through marriage (easy mode) I agree. There really is something about moving to the USA that is really hosed up. It's super hard, requires so much work and stress and years of waiting (literally years), and sometimes they just say 'lol no' because they feel like it rather than for any particular reason (green card through h1b especially). If you can do any other country it might be better.
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Mar 27, 2015 18:04
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I guess my wife and I need to apply for the removal of the conditional status of her permanent residency later this year. How crazy do you really have to go with all the evidence of marriage stuff? Is like, a shared bank account, a shared lease, and a couple photos enough? I don't imagine they want a huge scrapbook. I just gave them as muuuuch evidence as possible. I did this in Jan. Please note, as I didn't until the last minute, that the signed affadavits from friends need to be original copies unlike all other evidence. This meant that I was limited in who I could ask since they had to be within driving distance the. night before  I'm still waiting for the result but apparently that's totally normal. Expecting it no sooner than July, could take months longer
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Apr 26, 2015 01:10
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Ashcans posted:You might be eligible to come to the US on an L-1 visa; seeing as you already work for the company in the EU and they would be transferring you to their office in the US, I am guessing most things would line up. It would mostly be a matter of whether or not the duties meet the mark and if your company has/wants to undertake that petition for you. Without the L, your options are pretty limited. You missed the window this year on an H-1B, which is the go-to work visa for most professional work. Also like 233k applied for the h1b and only 85k people can get one (or is that just the numbers for tech)
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May 6, 2015 17:29
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Ashcans posted:Nope, those were the total numbers. Almost three times as many applicants as numbers, I think this is the worst I have seen it in years. Unfortunately if you don't manage to fit into another category the H-1B is basically it for a US work visa, so most of those people don't have other options to switch to. It sucks having to explain to someone that nothing about their petition made any different, they lost the draw just like playing the megamillions. Yeah I got mine in like 2010 or so, one of the 2 or 3 years in the recession when the h1b application period remained open all year and the total number available was not reached. Now I am sad that one of my close friends was denied his h1b, and I'm wondering what companies will do to get around this since apparently there are (233,000-85,000) = 148,000 people who american companies wanted to employ and sponsored for an h1b, and now will either have to carry on using their student visa for one year and try again next year (and then be forced to leave), or just (if they're outside the usa) not work here at all. I'm also anticipating tech salaries to increase even more over the next couple of years since so many jobs will be going without h1b's, and I know for a fact that in the bay area at least, there just aren't enough americans to fill all the jobs. On top of that salaries are probably also going up since in my recent experience it's basically impossible to get a green card through work, the DOL hates granting green cards, loves auditing cases etc. This h1b thing sucks for everyone who's not here already but for the people already legally here it can only help. Seems all the americans are getting the start up jobs in SF and all the foreigners are working in more stable companies in the south bay, companies who actually know what an immigration lawyer is. edit: VVV Yeah I have honestly never in my life met one of those people who work for any of those companies. I've been in tech in the USA for 8 years. redreader fucked around with this message at 22:05 on May 6, 2015 |
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May 6, 2015 19:05
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I submitted my I-751 to California in mid January. My case is solid, my wife signed, I gave bank statements we're both spending on, and lots of other proof. If they don't ask for more evidence, how long should I expect it to take? Currently I'm expecting 'july to october' or so. edit: VVV Thanks Ashcans. redreader fucked around with this message at 21:52 on May 27, 2015 |
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May 27, 2015 18:10
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With regards to the h1b employment cap: last year it was 172k applicants, this year 233k. Next year I'm guessing it'll be 300k if the market doesn't crash. Currently it's like a 1 in 3 chance. This year three of my colleagues applied and two got it. The one who didn't get it also didn't get it last year, very bad luck. I'm lucky I applied in 2010 or so, when the cap was not reached.
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Jun 10, 2015 23:12
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edit: bad info
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Jun 11, 2015 18:18
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I submitted my i-751 in mid-january and I got my approval notice at the end of last week and my green card in the mail a day later. Tremendous relief. Now I think I can get citizenship on the 5th anniversary of my original 'temp' green card? That'd be in 2.5 years time. Thanks for all the info in the thread everyone, and good luck. This stuff seems to be getting harder and harder: a colleague of mine has to leave the country because his finished-studying-can-work-2-years visa ran out and his H1B application failed for 2 years in a row due to bad luck.
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Jun 19, 2015 19:53
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Manifest Dynasty posted:Are you married to a US Citizen? If so, you can file after 3 years as an LPR instead of 5. (Provided you have been married to the USC that whole time.) Yes I am married to one. So if I got my original 2-year-temp-conditional-on-marriage green card originally in Jan 2013, which I did, does that mean I can get citizenship in January next year? Or does the 3 years only start after my 'non temp' green card is issued which is last week? edit: My question is really, is the 3 years of permanent residence, starting from: a: as soon as I got my non-conditional green card, last week i.e. 3 years from now or b: when I got my original temporary 2 year green card in jan 2013, which just got turned into a 'for real' green card last week, i.e. NEXT loving JANUARY!!!??? redreader fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Jun 19, 2015 |
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Jun 19, 2015 22:01
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Manifest Dynasty posted:Are you married to a US Citizen? If so, you can file after 3 years as an LPR instead of 5. (Provided you have been married to the USC that whole time.) Ashcans posted:The two conditional years count, so your three years trigger on January 2016. Thank you so much, both of you. I had no idea I was this close. This is amazing You've really made my day/week/month, as if getting a green card wasn't enough. Let me know if I can get upgrades for you or get you steam games or an amazon voucher or something.
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Jun 19, 2015 22:08
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Manifest Dynasty posted:Are you also aware of the 90-day early filing window? Lol no. So if I am eligible mid Jan, I can apply mid October?
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Jun 20, 2015 00:42
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